This invention pertains to analog to digital converters and to methods for converting analog signals to digital signals.
Throughout recent years numerous types of analog to digital converters (ADCs) have been designed and marketed. In some applications an ADC may be selectively fed numerous analog input signals which belong to a broad range of analog values, and yet the ADC may also be expected to provide meaningful digital output signals to distinguish two analog input signals whose differences might be relatively slight. ADCs having high resolution capability have been generally employed for such applications. Yet the high resolution afforded by these ADCs generally increases proportionately the length of time required to perform the conversions. Only a very fast ADC could maintain fine resolution and keep down conversion time, but such fast ADCs have heretofore been difficult to fabricate, especially since all the elements of ADCs of this type must be operating at high and yet compatible speeds.
Hence, an object of this invention is the provision of a high speed, high resolution ADC which provides accuracy, but not at the expense of conversion time.